The Sipi region police commander Gerald Tuyishime has been transferred following an altercation involving his officers and the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag bearer Dr Warren Kizza Besigye in Bukwo district.

By press time it was not possible to ascertain where Tuyishime had been transferred and efforts to contact police spokesperson Fred Enanga were futile.

But sources intimated Mr Tuyishime was not in office.

On Tuesday, January 5 the police under the command of Mr Tuyishime opened fire and threw tear gas canisters at Dr Besigye and his supporters, while they tried to access the Teriet camp.

Other FDC members injured in the fracas included party Secretary General Nathan Nandala Mafabi, Mobilisation Secretary Ms Ingrid Tutinawe and the party’s Secretary for Defence and Security Sadik Amin.

The Teriet camp, alongside four others is host to people who were evicted from Mt Elgon after it was gazetted in 1993, and Dr Besigye and his entourage had been invited by the camp residents ‘to see the squalid conditions’ they live under. And that is when the police swung into action, in an attempt to disperse the frenzied crowd.

Over the past few months the police have come under scrutiny from sections of society and the international community, who accuse the force acting unprofessionally and in a partisan manner.

The most recent negative publicity on police came from the US government and Human Rights Watch (HRW), both of which pointed a sore finger at the activities of the lead security agency for the forthcoming presidential elections on February 18.

However, the police led by Inspector General Gen Kale Kayihura and Force Spokesperson Commissioner of Police (CP) Enanga have vehemently defended the institution against the accusations that include brutality, unprofessionalism and partisanship.

Meanwhile, two senior police officers have been suspended following a raid on a printer where Dr Kizza Besigye’s campaign manifesto was being printed.

The officer in charge of Central Police Station in Kampala Ronald Mugabi and the station Intelligence Officer Moses Lukonge were suspended by the IGP after the duo raided MPK Publishers on Nasser Road last Friday, and seized copies of the manifesto.

Media reports indicate Kampala Metropolitan spokesperson Patrick Onyango saying the two had been referred to the Police Standards Unit to help with investigations into the incident.

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The Uganda Peoples Congress has paid tribute to Patrick Mwondha, saying he was a great Ugandan and Congressman who needed recognition.

At the time of his death the late Mwondha was the UPC Vice President, a position he held since July 2015.

And addressing the press at a memorial held in his honour today, party president Jimmy Akena said the late Mwondha contributed a lot to his country and party in various political capacities.

“The late was one of the senior party members who gave hope for the future, especially with the relentless struggle to return the country to multiparty politics,” Mr Akena said.
He eulogised the deceased as a UPC diehard who prepared for and handled the Wednesday Party Press Conferences at a time plural politics was banned and, a resolute minister who remained firm even after the overthrow of the UPC government (Obote II) in 1985.
“The party has lost an elder, an advisor, a strong pillar who contributed to educating our citizens on nationalism, pan-Africanism and internationalism,” Akena said, adding: “He represented the true image of UPC.”

Mr Akena said that the deceased’s body will not lie in state in Parliament because its campaign time but that the party will move a motion on the floor of the house to honour him.
The late Mwondha succumbed to kidney failure at Mulago Hospital yesterday and his body will be taken to UPC headquarters on Uganda House for public viewing after which it will be taken for burial at Ntanda village in Bugiri.

A seasoned politician, Mwondha served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukhooli North and also as a Deputy Minister for Local Government under the Obote II government, from 1981 to 1985.

Under the Museveni government he represented Bukhooli North in the Constituent Assembly (CA) in 1994.

Mwondha went to Busoga College Mwiri and Makerere University, where he obtained a degree in Statistics.

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The Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) has lost one of its staunch members.

Party Vice President Patrick Mwondha has succumbed to cardiac complications at the Uganda Heart Institute in Mulago, where he has been hospitalized since December 28, 2015.

A politician, Mwondha served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukhooli North and also as a Deputy Minister for Local Government under the Obote II government, from 1980 to 1985.

Under the Museveni government he represented Bukhooli North in the Constituent Assembly (CA) in 1994.

Mwondha went to Busoga College Mwiri and Makerere University, where he obtained a degree in Statistics.

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A raging fire has broken out at Uganda House, trapping many people in the 11-floor building.

The fire, reportedly caused by a transformer short circuit at the the building that houses the headquarters of the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) on Kampala Road, broke out at around 3pm but the cause is yet to be ascertained.

A source at the scene said no one died or was injured by the fire, but hastened to add that several people were still stranded in the lifts.

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New Makerere University Chancellor Dr Ezra Suruma has today presided over his maiden graduation ceremony, which will see over 14,000 students acquire degrees and diplomas.

Dr Suruma was yesterday handed the University instruments of power by his predecessor Prof George Mondo Kagonyera, who urged him to uplift the image of the institution.

Today’s ceremony, the 66^th Convocation, was held at the Freedom Square, and the subsequent ceremonies will take place over the next four days, between tomorrow and Friday, January 22.

Under this batch, 286 students attained first class degrees, obtaining a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of above 4.40 to graduate with honors at one of the best ranking universities on the continent and the oldest in the country.

In his speech Dr Suruma, who was appointed to head the 94-year institution last year following the expiry of Prof Kagonyera’s term, urged the graduates to be innovative, hardworking and disciplined in order to uphold the reputation of Makerere University.

Dr Suruma served as Minister of Finance before being appointed Presidential Advisor on Finance.

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